Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey there-
wondering if anyone else out there has a midline that is off? My top Midline is a little off to the left. I read that it is hard to get aligned and that it takes over 12 months. My Ortho sentenced me to 18 months but not sure I'll be able to wait that long.

anyone out there?

Hey lau--we will be getting our braces off at about the same time (24 months for me--approx 18 to go...)..and my midline has gotten waaayyyy off since I got braces....don't know how he's going to fix it--glad I'm not him!!

There is only one thing that I will never do---I'm not wearing those elastics that go all over your front teeth from one side to the other!!! I will do it at home--but not a chance in h*ll that I will be doing it at work or in public!!!

hi klobird!
thanks for the reply. it seems from reading this Board that it will 'get worse before it gets better' but its scary because after 1 week 3 days i seem to have an overbite and my midline looks more off now than before - just like you mention you have your midline off now and you didnt before.
how has it been for you this past 5 months? seen any changes? what does your ortho say? My next appt is Nov 15 not sure if i should call before that or wait one more week- i am a newbie and I am afraid she'll say i am worrying over nothing

Yes mine has been off before i got braces, my ortho said i should expect a gap between my front teeth soon as one has turned sideways.

by the way how does a midline get fixed?

does it return to normal on its own?

is there something else i should expect in my future.

My midline is off by almost a full tooths width. I am not sure how exactly my orthodontist is going to correct it. I think he really has his work cut out for him with my mouth. Can anyone tell me just how bad this is? I have always wondered...

Ok you guys--leave it to me to look it up on youtube to see how they fix a midline...the absolute thing I dread even thinking about---elastics right across your front teeth from one side on the top to the other side on the bottom--or any variation thereof. Well, I tell you right now-me and my ortho are going to have to do a little negotiating. That is the one thing I said to myself that I will not do in public--and my full metal jacket braces with elastics at 55yrs old don't embarrass me at all...but those elastics across the front of my mouth while talking to a patient---ya, not happening!!!!! NOT I tell you!!!

Crooked rory - Don't worry too much about the "worse before it gets better" phase. We all go through it, but it DOES get better; I promise you. Mine was off by about 1/2 a tooth and my teeth were really, really bucked out and pushed off to the right side. Everything's all lined up now and we're just working on the small overjet that's left and some small gaps. I've seen teeth like yours straighten up very quickly with braces.

Klo - My midline corrected itself with the wires, and regular elastics (upper canine to bottom molar); not the crazy one that goes across your mouth. I think those may only be used in severe cases. But if, for some reason, he prescribes it, I guess you're gonna have to wear it. If he says 24/7 except when eating and brushing, I suppose you could try to negotiate "only when I'm at home", but treatment may take longer that way.

-Cathy

Klobird - You only wear the elastics from side to side at night when you're sleeping At least that is what my ortho told me I will be doing.

Yes, my midline is off to the left but it was like that before braces. I think I'll probably be one of the ones that has the elastic going across the front of my teeth.

Yes, it looks like we will have all the types of elastics, as long as my midline moves, i dont mind. I am missing a left bicuspid but I didnt want to have any extractions - they said they needed to pull 3 perfectly shaped teeth for symmetry, and i refuse, unless I need to.

AM21 i saw your photos and 11 weeks in, your teeth are moving- congrats! I am 2 weeks in and seeing results gives me hope. I am very impatient

Mine's just gone off as well! Reassuring to know it's not just me but has just given me something else to obsess about when I look in the mirror!

aye!!!! my midline is off by a tooths width. and i hate it. cant wait to get it fixed. arggghhhhh

lau wrote:Yes, it looks like we will have all the types of elastics, as long as my midline moves, i dont mind. I am missing a left bicuspid but I didnt want to have any extractions - they said they needed to pull 3 perfectly shaped teeth for symmetry, and i refuse, unless I need to.

My ortho want to do the same. I'm missing a premolar left bottom and right upper jaw, and he want to extract a premolar in my bottom jaw right and upper jaw left to create summetry.

I don't like the thought of it since I got some huge fillings in some of my molars in my uppe jaw and if these molars someday need to get ex. because of that I won't have many teeth left.

What is the symmetry for?

Mine got worse after getting braces too. At my adjustment last week the ortho put me in heavier wires on the bottom and I'm back in elastics 24 hrs. a day now. I just looked in the mirror and my midline has already gotten closer! It hasn't even been a week. I've been braced 10 months now, and my lower front teeth have been all over the place. The shortest tooth became the tallest, but now it's almost even. My ortho told me they would do that and he was right. It's a process, for sure. Have faith, you'll get there!